Every once in a while I get a custom doll order that gets me even more excited than usual.

When a mom contacted me about making Laura and Mary Ingalls dolls for her little sweetie's birthday, I couldn't wait to get started! As a little girl, I loved the show Little House on the Prairie, and even more close to my heart are the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

I started with red calico and brown braids for Laura and blue calico and blonde braids for Mary.

Another essential piece was going to be the bonnets. I made these from some really pretty Liberty of London-esque vintage cloth napkins.

I modified the bonnet from a vintage Holly Hobbie doll pattern to fit these dolls. Isn't this sweet?

The dolls also needed some little white pinafore aprons over their prairie dresses, and then faces painted. Laura with violet eyes and Mary with soft blue.

Here they are completed and in their bonnets.

And here they are in their special winter cloaks, a sweet extra my brilliant customer added on.

I enjoyed this project so much and was so inspired by it that I've decided to reread the Little House books this summer, starting with this one:

If you are interested in a custom made doll of your favorite book character, click here for doll options, and here for costume and outfit extras.

I'm so excited to announce that I have opened a brand new Etsy shop just for my burgeoning watercolor portfolio called Hen and Chick Art!

This is where I'll post greeting cards and prints of my bird paintings, floral paintings, seashells and other little bits of nature, and my newest series that you may have seen on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, my Dublin Doors.

by Rachel Linquist

Some other favorites:

by Rachel Linquist

by Rachel Linquist

by Rachel Linquist

I'm currently working on a sweet little painting of my succulent collection that lives in my kitchen window, so watch for that to make an appearance soon. My peonies are also in bloom in my front yard and I'm planning a photo session to make some nice shots to paint from of those soon too.

As excited as I am to share my watercolors with the world, I want to assure my doll fans that I am not taking a break from doll making, and that is still a major part of my creative life. In fact there are some new exciting happenings on the doll front that I will share with you soon. But I hope that you enjoy a little bit of art mixed in with your snuggles! Love to you all and please let me know how you are doing in the comments, and what kinds of beauty are enriching your world right now!